OFWs face difficulty renewing passports due to lack of appointment slots

Some overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are facing difficulty renewing their passports due to lack of available appointment slots. According to JP Soriano’s report on “State of the Nation,” there is a special courtesy lane for OFWs leaving the country at the Department of Foreign Affairs Consular Office. However, some OFWs are having difficulty getting slots. “Ang pinakamaaga daw po nilang schedule according to their email response December 4, 2021, but I have to leave by October 16,” Kenneth Garcia, an OFW, said. Garcia is employed in Doha, Qatar. He was given two months by his employer to fix his passport, which is set to expire in January 2022. Upon arriving in the country in August, he immediately filed for a passport renewal. Though he has written to the DFA, the agency has yet to promise a date for his passport renewal appointment. “Kami lang po talaga ‘yung inaasahan ng pamilya namin. Kailangan ko po talagang makabalik doon sa trabaho ko. Otherwise, maaring mawalan ako ng trabaho,” Garcia said. [Our families rely on us. I really need to get back to my job. Otherwise, I will be fired.] Meanwhile, the Consular Affairs Office of the DFA said they have opened additional slots to accommodate more applicants. OFWs who need to immediately leave the country are advised to email the DFA through oca.cl@dfa.gov.ph. “‘Yung lahat po na OFWs na nag e-email sa courtesy lane ng DFA ay binibigyan po natin ng appointments according to their urgency,” DFA assistant secretary Senen Mangalile said. [OFWs that are sending email to the courtesy lane are being given appointments according to their urgency.] “So kung talagang malapit na malapit na ang kanilang deployment nilalagay natin sila sa bandang una ng courtesy lane,” he added. [So if your deployment is near, we will prioritize them at the courtesy lane.] The DFA also clarified that there are still slots up to next year.—Joahna Lei Casilao/LDF, GMA News

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